BLOOMFIELD, WINDSOR DEMOCRATS UNITE

Both the Windsor and the Bloomfield Democratic town committees have unanimously endorsed Windsor Deputy Mayor Tim Curtis for the 2nd Senate District seat held by Sen. Eric Coleman.

Bloomfield Mayor Faith McMahon will serve as Bloomfield co-chairwoman of Curtis' campaign, while running her own campaign for the 15th House District seat being vacated by Rep. Mary U. Eberle.

Ending weeks of speculation, Windsor Mayor Donald Trinks announced Wednesday that he would not seek the 15th House seat. He will join Eberle in endorsing McMahon for the post.

"We need to work together to get the best people elected to state office in the fall," Trinks said. "While I was tempted to throw my hat into the ring, I've decided party unity and town cooperation are more important than my political aspirations at the moment."

McMahon and Curtis will run in the first elections since a bipartisan commission of state legislative leaders approved new district borders.

"I am very thankful for the support by Bloomfield," Curtis said. "It's very important for the towns to work together so that we can get me and Faith into the Capitol."

No Republican candidates have yet come forward for either seat.

Although most politicians come from careers in law or public policy, McMahon and Curtis share a background in education. McMahon worked as an elementary school teacher in Windsor for 35 years; Curtis teaches high school French in East Granby.

"These are folks that see what happens when education budgets get cut," Trinks said.

McMahon said she hopes that Windsor and Bloomfield Democrats can work together to mobilize voters for the September primary and November election.

"We need more state funding and more aid to education," she said. "We can't continue to provide the bulk of our services from property taxes."

Windsor Councilman Alan Simon agreed that it was important for the neighboring towns to work together to further their interests at the state level. Too often, he said, state representatives have lacked local government experience, resulting in impossible budget cuts.

"There need to be people in Hartford who understand how money gets spent at the local level," Simon said. "We have very little authority to raise money, but we have a lot of restrictions when it comes to spending money."